Auriemma: Sophomore Hayes can do it all

By Rich Elliott, STAFF WRITER

Published
11:02 pm EDT, Saturday, October 24, 2009

STORRS -- UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph has heard the whispers. They began to circulate throughout women's basketball offices around the country last season during the regular season and only seemed to intensify during the NCAA tournament.

Maya Moore had already gained national recognition. There was no doubting the All-American ability of Tina Charles, either.

The whispers were about Tiffany Hayes.

Hayes was an athletic, 5-foot-10 freshman guard. In watching her play, coaches and members of the national media knew that she had the chance to become the next special player for the Huskies.

Head coach Geno Auriemma has since turned those whispers into public conversation this preseason. To him, she will indeed be the next great player he will have the privilege of mentoring.

"There's nothing that Tiffany Hayes can't do,'' Auriemma said. "She's the next superstar at Connecticut. She knows it, too. That's what I like about her. She's confident. She's smart. You don't have to tell her things more than once. She's got the right personality type.

"Every great, great team that I've had had three All-Americans. If she's an All-American this year, we're going to win the whole thing.''

Auriemma has made plenty of predictions over the course of the first 24 years of his Hall of Fame tenure with the Huskies. Many of them have come to fruition. And with the start of the regular season just more three weeks away, the rest of the coaching staff and Hayes' teammates are confident that Hayes has the proper skill set and mental make-up to be great.

The performance that changed the way Hayes was perceived came against California in the Trenton regional semifinal in March. With UConn looking for a spark and its three All-Americans struggling to get untracked, it was Hayes who took the lead.

She generated career-highs of 28 points (9-of-10 FG) and seven assists and added five rebounds, five 3-pointers and did not commit a turnover in a career-high 39 minutes in a 77-53 victory. Hayes scored more points in an NCAA tournament game than any other freshman in the history of the program. More than All-Americans named Bascom, Lobo, Bird and Taurasi.

"She has it all,'' said Ralph, who was also an All-American at UConn. "She can shoot. She explodes. She is a great defender. She can handle the ball. She can play four positions on the court. Now that she has added that confidence, I think you will really begin to see it more. She has things that I couldn't teach her to go along with a desire to want to be great and a will to win.''

The sense of confidence that Hayes has developed is extraordinary. She was shy at times last season. But she underwent a significant change this summer as a member of the U.S. World University Games team. She was the youngest player on the 12-player roster, which also included Moore and Charles.

Hayes, who made a team-high nine 3-pointers, averaged 8.7 points in 18.9 minutes a game to help the U.S. win the gold medal in Belgrade, Serbia.

"It helped me in a lot of different ways with the leadership thing and playing with the older guys,'' Hayes said. "It was good to be amongst older players, learning from them and taking things from them to make my game better.''

Hayes averaged 8.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 25.7 minutes in 39 games for the Huskies last season. She started 17 games, including all six during the NCAA tournament when she averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 32.2 minutes.

The expectation is that her overall numbers will increase this season along with her role. She will be asked to play point guard at some point, maybe even as the starter.

Auriemma began grooming Hayes to play more minutes at point guard last season by using her at the position in practice and in games when Renee Montgomery was on the bench or alongside her.

"I think Tiffany realizes that this year, her role is going to change,'' Moore said. "She definitely has it in her. Tiffany's not afraid. I think that's one of the biggest things that holds different players back, between good players and great players. You've got to be fearless. And Tiffany's one of those players.''

Hayes, the first player to wear No. 3 at UConn since Taurasi graduated in 2004, was named to the Big East all-freshman team and was a WBCA/State Farm District I All-American last season. The coaches in the Big East, too, seem to anticipate a large jump in her production this season. They voted her to the 12-member preseason all-conference team. Hayes is ready to take on a greater sense of responsibility in her second season. She said she is ready to back up the words of her coach's expectations.

"I do use it as motivation because I wouldn't want to let anybody down that he's telling that to,'' Hayes said. "So it definitely makes me work two times harder in practice. With the coaching staff we have and my teammates that I have beside me, there can definitely be something special that can happen in the next year or two whether it be with myself or with the team.''